Bill Karrow
Bloomington, MN ****8
Phone: 630-***-**** Email: ********@****.***
SUMMARY
Extensive experience in the creation of processes and contracts for Vendor
Management, IT Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Chain, Spend Category, and Supplier
Management, Operations, Outsourcing, and Technology services for major
corporations. Experienced also in Vendor Management and Contract Negotiations, operating in a
global environment. Outstanding communication skills with proven success in developing and
mentoring a geographically diverse staff. Reputation for optimizing and organizing operational
structures.
EXPERTISE
Negotiations Staff Development Project Management
Change Management Supplier Management Process Re-engineering
Relationship Management Technology Deployment Global Experience
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Altegrity/Kroll, Eden Prairie, MN “April, 2013 – September, 2014”
Leading provider for legal technologies, data recovery and information management products and
services; and global commercial employment background verification services.
Vice President, Strategic Sourcing
Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, acted as lead responsible for forming, managing, and
implementing sourcing practices and staff
• Developed and executed sourcing strategy aligned with business requirements
• Developed working relationships with business executives across the enterprise
• Responsible for building a sourcing organization from ground up
• Led large and or complex negotiations across the enterprise
• Led RFP, RFI, and Un-solicited bid processes for sourcing projects
• Adjusted workload as business needs changed
• Assisted in creating budgets and P&L for business units
• Developed relationships with the goal of winning support for the sourcing function
• Modified strategy as required on a day to day basis
• Developed cross business unit Sourcing Council to assist in prioritizing projects as well as
gaining approval on proposed sourcing initiatives
• Led diverse teams whose members often had unclear or conflicting objectives, and
generally had little or no authority over the team members resulting in a collaborative
approach with common goals and expectations
• Consolidated disparate business units processes and procedures into one cohesive
process
• Managed change control process across five business units
Best Buy Corporate, Richfield, MN “Augustwa 2011-April, 2013”
A multinational retailer of consumer electronics, home office products, entertainment products,
appliances and related services.
Director, Negotiations Center of Excellence
Reporting to the Vice President of Sourcing, acted as lead negotiator and trainer for Best Buy
procurement.
• Led global IT outsourcing negotiations worth over $2.2 Billion TCV in 12 months
• Led negotiation of IT outsourcing agreements, including global data center, help desk,
hosting, managed print, and ADM.
• Led effort to transform IT from one outsourced vendor to multi source environment
• Agreement received award from the Financial Times for the number 1 most innovative
agreement of 2013
• Responsible for training Best Buy employees in negotiations using standardized tools and
approaches
• Developed, implemented, and presented sourcing and negotiation training
program internationally
• Developed highly specialized team of direct reports capable of executing strategy and
practice
• Member of senior management committee saving $557 million over two years
• Acted as resource for negotiation tips and best practices for all Best Buy employees
• Lead negotiator on all large, complex, or business critical deals and or projects, including
marketing, facilities, HR, etc.
• Worked with outside counsel and internal stakeholders to ensure accurate acquisitions
• Presented on a regular basis to senior management on status of agreements and
negotiations
• Developed working relationships with internal and external management
Tek Systems, Chicago, IL “April 2011 – August 2011”
A provider of contract employees to businesses throughout the Chicagoland area.
Contractor
• Provided sourcing support on projects
• Redlined and negotiated purchase agreements
• Ran RFP/RFI processes
• Negotiated savings for organization
Wolters Kluwer, Riverwoods, IL – “October 2009 – April 2011”
A global brand leader of information-enabled solutions to help professionals manage processes
and drive results effectively.
Contractor/Director of Sourcing
Reporting to the Vice President of Global Sourcing and Operational Excellence, responsible for all
sourcing and commercial matters relating to sourcing projects totaling over $1 billion.
• Led the preparation and negotiation of hardware, software, and services sourcing
agreements
• Worked on acquisition of data centers, help desk, managed print, hosting agreements,
ADM services, and BPO F&A outsourcing projects
• Maintained key end user stakeholders in a global, cross-business unit “category council” to
understand their changing needs, concerns, and make necessary changes to the sourcing
strategy
• Developed high performing cross functional multi business unit teams to execute sourcing
strategy
• Developed tool kit of repeatable best practices to enable global direct reports to achieve
savings and efficiency targets
• Responsible for project and change management teams implementing sourcing processes
and procedures, along with large sourcing projects
• Led change management initiatives relative to pre and post sourcing events.
• Led effort to identify potential providers
• Led the development of an overall sourcing and vendor management strategy
• Developed vendor selection criteria, SLAs, SOWs and associated documents
• Led diverse teams whose members often had unclear or conflicting objectives, and
generally had little or no authority over the team members resulting in a collaborative
approach with common goals and expectations
• Worked with internal and external counsel, as well as Third Party Advisors
• Led due diligence activities with potential vendors
Accenture, Chicago, IL - “2007 - 2009”
A global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company with sales of
$26B.
Senior Manager/Commercial Lead Business Process Outsourcing Practice
Reporting to the Global Commercial Partner, responsible for developing, drafting, reviewing,
approving, and negotiating outsourcing agreements.
• Negotiated complex cross-tower outsourcing agreements,
• Developed company leading cross functional teams to execute negotiations with
customers.
• Reviewed and defined pre-sale:
o Initial indicative pricing ranges
o Detailed solutioning including staffing pyramids, delivery center locations, seat
utilization, productivity, PMO, and transition elements
o Detailed pricing, including comparison to competitor pricing data
• Developed Bill Of materials of outsourcing engagements at Client sites, involved in
developing Procurement Services for 30 clients
• Built relationships with senior management of both Accenture and clients
• Business case development based on client business objectives
• Deal structuring – transactional, T&M, contingent, fixed or blended. Approved SLA’s,
ARC’s RRC’s, and revenue for each deal
• Measured against P&L of deals
• Drafted, reviewed and negotiated key contracting terms e.g. benchmarking, due
diligence/base-lining, business continuity, dragnet provisions etc.
• Approved risk and dependency considerations
Baxter Healthcare, Deerfield, IL - “2001 – 2007”
A company that develops, manufactures, and markets products for hemophilia, immune disorders,
infectious diseases, kidney disease, trauma, chronic and acute medical conditions with sales of
$13B.
Senior Manager Sourcing
Reporting to C-Suite executives. Responsibilities included negotiations, strategic sourcing, and
supplier relationship management.
• Acted as lead negotiator drafting contractual language, including SLAs, KPIs, etc.,
representing Baxter during sourcing acquisitions, resulting in standardized terms and
conditions
• Developed Global Strategic Vendor Management process and system
• Managed and controlled the sourcing process from RFP creation and review through
contract negotiations and on-going supplier management resulting in a standardized
approach to acquisitions
• Negotiated global data center hardware agreements with Tier 1 vendors
• Negotiated a global outsourced application run strategy that provided savings of greater
than 7% over 5 years
• Negotiated a global outsourced managed print strategy
• Negotiated and implemented a global outsourced help desk agreement which provided for
a consistent incident management platform and generated savings of over 12% in a 3 year
period
• Compensated and measured against ability to deliver solutions on time and on budget
• Trained and led multi-function teams from multiple divisions, departments, and groups on
negotiation practices and contract management, resulting in general knowledge and
acceptance of the sourcing process
• Responsible for software acquisition and asset management
• Developed and implemented strategic outsourcing practice and related tool kits to enable
end users to evolve their sourcing capability
• Led diverse teams whose members often had unclear or conflicting objectives, and
generally had little or no authority over the team members resulting in a collaborative
approach with common goals and expectations
• Developed relationships with senior management of Providers
Hewlett Packard, Naperville, IL - “1999-2001”
A provider of products, technologies, software, solutions and services to individual consumers,
small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and large enterprises.
Contract Negotiator
Reporting to the Commercial Officer, responsible for drafting and negotiating sales agreements for
services and hardware.
• Built relationships with customers, including C-Suite
• Developed road map for negotiations
• Reviewed, drafted, and negotiated agreements
EDUCATION
Juris Doctorate, 1996
Southern Illinois University, School of Law, Carbondale
B.A. Cum Laude - Philosophy / Psychology, 1993
Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Sourcing in an International IT Environment
Gartner IT Summit, Orlando FL
IT Sourcing in a Multinational Enterprise
Sourcing Interests Group Semiannual meeting Huntington Beach CA
Making Outsourcing Work: Vendor Governance, Lessons Learned, and New Approaches
CIO Think Tank Series –Sponsored by TPI
AWARDS
IT Outsourcing agreement was recipient of Financial Times 2013 most innovative agreement of
the year